Chapter 1

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"Tatiana. Tatiana. Tatiana, wake up."

A young woman moaned softly and opened her eyes to see a wooden boat's rear side and an Eevee napping next to her. She moved her brown cloak that she was using as a blanket, revealing her dark blue dress and a tiny, oddly-shaped figure wrapped around in cloth lying next to her that she was spooning in her sleep. She sat up from her seat on the boat and looked at her surroundings while scooping the covered figure in her arms.

A heavy-set man with streaks of red hair on his bald head was gently rowing the boat, and a Golbat was standing at the bow, keeping watch with its wings wrapped around its body. Sitting beside the woman on the right side of the boat was a man and woman in their seventies, and a little Flabébé sitting on the older woman's shoulder. The couple was also covering themselves with cloaks and sitting close together for warmth. Tatiana looked ahead to see the light at the end of the dark tunnel.

"Are we there, Gray?" The young woman asked.

The old man named Gray gave her a kind-hearted smile and said, "Yes, my child. We are in Lumiose City."

Tatiana smiled with her heart full of hope and turned to the Eevee napping next to her. She gently nudged the evolution Pokemon, and it whimpered before it stood and yawned cutely.

"We made it, Eves," Tatiana said. "We're at Lumiose City."

"Eevee," the Eevee named Eves said happily.

"Be quiet!" The fat man hissed. "Soldiers could be anywhere. Do you want to alert them?"

"Sorry, Xerosic. We'll try to keep it down," Gray said.

Xerosic sniveled and looked away, still rowing. The passengers looked down at the wooden floor with Gray's arm around his wife, eager to reach their destination. The wind blew harder, and Tatiana heard whimpers coming out of the bundle she was carrying. The figure wrapped in cloth started to cry, and Tatiana gently shushed it while using her cloak to protect it from the wind.

"Hush, little one," she whispered. "It'll be over soon. We're going to be safe in the Court of Miracles. I promise."

The figure kept crying, making Gray worry that it would upset Xerosic. Tatiana held the figure close to her chest and began humming a soft melody while moving her upper body back and forth. The cries slowly died down, and Tatiana closed her eyes, whispering, "That's it," with a serene smile before kissing the figure's head. Gray, Eves, Gray's wife, and Flabébé smiled as they watched Tatiana before the older woman sighed.

"I hope they really will be safe," she said. "I've heard that the soldiers have become persistent in finding the Court of Miracles."

"Not to worry, Florence, my love," Gray said. "Madame Magnolia has kept our people and Pokemon safe here for many years. Tatiana will worry about the little one for nothing."

"Arceus willing," Florence said, holding a small golden cross-like wheel hanging around her neck. "Still, it'll be good to see Madame Magnolia and her little granddaughter, Sonia, again."

Gray smiled and hummed in agreement.

"Sonia must be a tween by now," he said.

"Flabébé," Flabébé said.

The boat became quiet again, apart from Tatiana humming. Eventually, the boat made it to the end of the tunnel under the docks of Lumiose City. Tatiana looked around to see dark clouds covering the night sky, and there was a faint breeze blowing at the snowflakes falling down. Further down the river were countless wooden houses covered in snow. No light could be seen from the windows inside the homes, for it was past midnight. Xerosic rowed the boat to the shore on the river's right side, and his passengers got out. Gray, Florence, Tatiana, Flabébé, and Eves smiled, knowing that they were so close to their destination until Xerosic cleared his throat.

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